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CCM Art Professor and Two of His Students Exhibit at the Morris Museum

Discovering How Teachers Inspire and Influence - Posted 8/24/16

Two recent visual art students at County College of Morris (CCM) will each have one of their pieces on display at the Morris Museum in an exhibition designed to explore how art teachers inspire and influence their students.

Emily Larosa, of Morris Plains, who graduated CCM in May with her Associate in Fine Arts, will be displaying “The Telephone Poles,” an acrylic landscape painting. Heather Aurora Hardin, of Oak Ridge, will be displaying a mixed media “Self Portrait.” Their Professor, Todd L. W. Doney, of the Department of Art and Design at CCM, will be exhibiting “Tree Shadows, Feb. 8, 5:17 p.m.,” an oil on linen landscape.

“Surrounded by four colleges with wonderful art departments, the Morris Museum wanted to bring students and faculty together to showcase the talent in our backyard,” says Jody Marcus, curator, Morris Museum. “We also want to see if we can detect the influence art teachers have on their students.”

“It really is amazing when you get to see how you have influenced a student,” says Doney. “What’s even better is seeing how they take what they learn and expand upon that, which is why I asked Emily and Heather to include their work in the exhibit. Both have done an outstanding job building upon what they have learned.”

“Being included in this exhibit really is an honor because my piece is being shown alongside the work of an established artist like my professor, Todd Doney,” says Hardin, who will be completing her final semester at CCM this fall. “As one of only a couple students from CCM chosen to have their pieces showcased, I feel as though my hard work has paid off, and I'm happy to be sharing my art with others.”

“I actually was really surprised he chose me,” says Larosa, who now will be working on her bachelor’s degree at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. “It’s an honor. It’s just cool.”

Also participating in the exhibit are the College of Saint Elizabeth, Drew University and Fairleigh Dickinson University.